Nagoya University (Akihiro Sasoh, Director at the Institutes of Innovation for Future Society) conducted a two-week pilot test from August 25 to September 7, 2025, in Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture (Hiroyuki Shimoe, Mayor) in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST; Kazuhiko Ishimura, President). The pilot test aims to explore how “metawork,” in which a person operates a robotic arm while wearing a VR headset, can contribute to the theme of regional revitalization.
This study is part of a research project that was jointly proposed with AIST and adopted in 2023 under the Cabinet Office’s initiative “Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) Phase 3 / Development of foundational technologies and rules for expansion of the virtual economy / Research and development of glocal interverse infrastructure for regional revitalization.”
To test the versatility of remotely-located robotic arms, different types of robotic arm were installed at Nagoya University’s Higashiyama Campus (Photo 1) and the Trusco Nakayama Logistic Center “Planet Aichi” (Photo 2), and an environment to operate the arms remotely was set up in Shinshiro (hereafter, the “metawork environment”).
Many residents, ranging in age from 18 to 65 and including the mayor of Shinshiro (Photo 3), used the metawork environment set up at the Shinshiro Working Juvenile Home (a public facility), totaling 120 uses by 85 participants (Photo 4). Even though for most participants it was their first time using a VR headset in a metawork environment, all participants were able to operate the robotic arms successfully. The event was also attended by companies and representatives from other municipalities who are interested in the future of remote work.
Please refer to the following link for the pilot test video digest:
Moving forward, the collaboration will investigate the possibilities and challenges of social implementation from the perspective of both workers and companies.
